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Warship Classes
CRUISERS (CA) ---- Larger than destroyers yet smaller than battleships, cruisers have fulfilled as many roles as they had designations; common ones include "light", "heavy", "protected", "armored", "torpedo", and later, "missile" cruisers. Cruisers are often called upon to hunt down enemy destroyers, perform quick response duties, escort and protect merchant shipping or larger vessels like battleships and aircraft carriers from various threats, provide an additional layer of defense... whatever needs to be done at any given moment. Each nation's cruiser line is unique in characteristics. United States cruisers tend to have the best anti-aircraft defense as well as the best protection, with some exceptions. Japanese cruisers have powerful torpedo armament and the best high-explosive shells to set fires, but lack sufficient anti-aircraft defense and armor compared to other cruisers. Kriegsmarine cruisers have good range, high rate of fire, and good armor-piercing shells that inflict large amounts of damage and have good penetration for their size, but are weak in their high-explosive shell potential and often their armor is lacking. French cruisers are sleek and fast, with excellent firing ranges but virtually no armor protection and fairly weak anti-aircraft defenses. Russian cruisers have the longest range and usually are good in both high-explosive and armor-piercing shells due to their high muzzle velocity, but have the poorest armor, insufficient anti-aircraft defense, largest detection range, and worst ship handling attributes compared to other nations. Finally, British cruisers consist exclusively of light cruisers throughout the line, with quick-firing, mid-caliber guns, generous compliments of torpedoes, and access to consumables that the other nations don't, but are hindered by exceptionally poor armor protection and mediocre anti-aircraft batteries, as well as only being able to fire AP rounds. BATTLESHIPS (BB) ---- Large, well-armored warships brandishing massive, main guns and numerous secondary and defensive AA batteries, battleships are the heaviest, and some of the most powerful ships in the game. They can rain fire upon enemies with impunity due to their long gun ranges, weather more fire than any other class, and their secondary batteries make short work of any smaller ships or aircraft that foolishly attempt to close the distance without the use of tactics. Unfortunately, slow rudder shift times, coupled with long turning times of the main battery turrets, render them unable to respond quickly to rapid changes in the battlefield; it is recommended for battleship commanders to think several steps ahead before taking any action, especially when facing the battleship's biggest weakness, the torpedo. Forget about subtlety; battleships can be seen from miles away, even without firing, but with a well-placed salvo, they can cripple any enemy they encounter, if not outright kill them. However, as shown in history and reflected accordingly in-game, lone or unescorted battleships are nothing but sitting ducks for enemies to pounce upon and overwhelm, especially by destroyers and aircraft carriers. All battleships have access to the Repair Party consumable, allowing them to repair the most damage taken during battle and giving them unmatched survivability. As captains progress up the tiers, battleships gain access to additional abilities: -German battleships have access to Sonar starting at Tier VI, giving them greatly increased spotting range for incoming torpedoes and allowing them to detect units under Smoke cover in close proximity. -French battleships receive Engine Boost starting at Tier VI, giving them a slight speed boost when it is used. -American battleships have access to Rapid Reload starting at Tier V, reducing their reload time when it is used. -Japanese battleships have access to Precise Aim starting at Tier V, improving their accuracy when it is used. DESTROYERS (DD) ---- Destroyers have the smallest amounts health pools, but gain some extra protection from the fact they are the only ship class in the game that does not have a citadel. This means that it is ideal to use HE against them with big guns. While all destroyers have excellent speed, maneuverability and concealment, their most dreaded weapon is the torpedo; their effective use is directly correlated with the effectiveness of the destroyer (each nation has their differences, however). Torpedoes can cripple or outright destroy any type and class of ship they encounter as long as they can hit them, and they do not reveal the destroyer's location when launched, making them excellent assassins. Well-placed torpedo salvos are an art form, be it having torpedoes "appear" out of nowhere, fired pre-emptively around land masses or used as area denial in narrow straits. However, unlike shells fired from guns, torpedoes have longer travel times, do not have the benefit of arcing over land masses, and as mentioned earlier, do not differentiate between friend or foe; destroyer captains should always be aware of nearby teammates such that the latter does not end up being sunk instead of the enemy. While their purpose is nearly universal, they vary based on nationality. Japanese destroyers severely lack gun firepower compared to their contemporaries, are extremely fragile, and are can do little else but attempt to flee if spotted by hostile ships; in exchange, they all can torpedo their targets beyond detection range and have the strongest torpedoes in their respective tiers. The United States has "brawling" destroyers that have the fastest guns and a good balance of torpedoes that lack range, but nonetheless are still lethal. However, their shells take a significant amount of time to reach their target, making them ill-suited to shoot fast-moving targets at range, and they're also the slowest DDs. However, they are able to begin equipping Smoke at Tier VI, giving them an escape mechanism, and Anti Air Alert at Tier VII, making them surprisingly effective against enemy aircraft. Russian and Soviet destroyers are almost light cruisers in that their primary armament is their guns — not their torpedoes, which are woefully underpowered for their respective tiers — and they lack concealment. Instead, they make up for that with incredible speeds that make them difficult to hit and the largest health pools that surpass other nations by far; their main battery guns are nothing to be taken lightly. Finally, German destroyers frequently find themselves in a middle ground between their Soviet and American counterparts, with above average stealth, good gun ballistics, and long-range torpedoes; however, slower turret traverse and rudder shift times combine with large turning circles mean they are not as difficult to hit when spotted and make them less attractive for the close-range "brawling" that the American line excels at. They gain smoke screens starting Tier IX but are of the short-lasting Level I variant. They do, however, have the Sonar consumable starting at Tier VI, turning them into dangerous DD hunters, able to counterplay enemy Smoke clouds and torpedoes. CARRIERS (CV) ---- Playing an aircraft carrier differs quite a bit from playing the regular gunships. Aircraft carrier captains can, for the most part, keep their vessel far from the main action of a battle, and instead participate in the battle with individual squadrons of strike craft. You do not directly participate in combat, but are able to influence the flow of battle from a safe distance like no one else can, scouting, reinforcing a crumbling flank, providing additional presence to a sector that your team has committed fewer ships to, or even breaking up entire battleship formations to tip the scales in favor of your team. Do not forget to be on the lookout for sneaky destroyers or enemy aircraft seeking to destroy you; your ability to influence a battle makes you a priority target for the enemy. All carriers hold a limited number of aircraft of various types on deck, so careful usage and proper target selection is vital to ensuring a fast and consistent turnover of strikes on the enemy team. Long aircraft rearm times and large squadron sizes at higher tiers can make the loss of an entire squadron of aircraft a significant handicap to the team. Aircraft carriers start off at Tier IV with a limited complement of fighters, dive bombers and torpedo planes. Torpedo planes and dive bombers are used to take out the opposing team's surface vessels, while the limited number of fighters can be used to provide AA protection for allies, or to provide passive scouting of an area. Torpedo bombers are best used when attacking vessels from the side, allowing for a larger target and reduced area to maneuver. Dive bombers perform the best when attacking a target parallel to their direction of movement, as their hit area is an oblong circle. Torpedo bombers, like ship-launched torpedoes, can cause flooding and tend to be more effective against smaller, fragile ships; the automatic (most of the time at least) dive bombers fare better against larger, durable targets such as battleships and can set enemy ships on fire. Small changes in direction will decrease the "aiming" time, while large maneuvers can cause the squadron to reorientate entirely. As such, captains should plan their attack runs and perform necessary maneuvers well in advance of starting each attack run. Although carriers have reasonable concealment, speeds and, at higher tiers, a modicum of self-defensive secondary armament, great care should be taken to maintain a good balance in the distance from the fighting; too far and the carrier will be unable to provide timely and constant aerial presence; too near and the carrier will be the priority target to be taken down as they are almost defenseless under the guns of enemy ships. The Tier X aircraft carriers of the US and Japan both feature "armored" decks that are quite consistent at mitigating both AP and HE damage at long range.